Roxanne Varzi(Persian:رکسانا ورزی;born 1971)[1]is an Iranian-born American cultural anthropologist, filmmaker, sound artist, writer, playwright, and educator.[2]She is a full professor ofanthropologyandfilmandmedia studiesatUniversity of California, Irvine(UCI).[3]Varzi is known for her various works in media, including books, film documentaries, sound performances, and theatrical plays.
Roxanne Varzi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971 (age 52–53)[1] Iran[1] |
| Nationality | American, Iranian |
| Education | American University, Columbia University |
| Known for |
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| Website | www |
Early life and education
editRoxanne Varzi was born in 1971 in Iran,[1]to an American mother and an Iranian father. Her family migrated to the United States after theIranian Revolutionin 1979, settling inGrosse Pointe,Michigan.[4][5]
She moved in 1991 to continue her education at theAmerican University in Cairoin Cairo, Egypt, and graduated in 1993 fromAmerican Universityin Washington D.C..[citation needed]In 1994, she moved to Tehran and remained there for four years,[6]and returned to the United States to continue her studies.
She was the first recipient of theFulbright awardto Iran since the Iranian Revolution.[citation needed]Varzi completed her PhD in 2002 atColumbia Universityfor anthropology.[7]
Career
editFrom 2002 to 2004, Varzi was an instructor of anthropology atNew York University.[1]Varzi joined the University of California, Irvine in 2005, and she became a full professor of in the Department of Anthropology in 2009.[citation needed]
While at the University of California, Irvine, she has completed many works. Even though many of her works are focused onIranian culture,she has expanded her work to tackle universal issues concerning war.[8]Due to her Iranian roots, many of her works focus on post-Revolution Iran public culture.[9]
Her first book,Warring Souls: Youth, Media, and Martyrdom in Post-Revolution Iran(2006) focuses heavily on how propaganda and media take a role in shaping the identities of those living in post-Revolution Iran.[citation needed]The author says this that her book focuses on "the intersection of religion, vision, and power, and whether the individual ultimately has the power to turn an image off".[10]Her second work,Plastic Flowers Never Die(2008) which is an experimental documentary on the effects of the war in Iran, and the aftermath of the war.[citation needed]In this documentary, she speaks to mural painters, museum curators, and veterans to get a thorough breakdown of war and how the post-war period has been affected by the war.[11]Plastic Flowers Never Diewas selected for 14 film festivals. TheWhole World Blind(2011) was her first sound performance. It is said to be experienced while the audience is "blindfolded and wearing headphones". The audience listens to a "narrative loop of a curator describing a slide show of war photography".[12]Her second book,Last Scene Underground: An Ethnographic Novel of Iran(2015) is a fictional story set inIran's Green Movement[13]about young Iranians learning life lessons "through politics, art, and the meaning of home". Her work,Salton Sublime(2017), is another sound performance focusing on whatsublimemeans in the current state ofenvironmental degradationour world is facing.[14]
Awards
edit- Fulbright Award (2000)
- Society for Humanistic Anthropology - Ethnographic Fiction Competition (2007)[citation needed]
- Gold medalist in multicultural fiction forLast Scene Underground,Independent Publisher Book Awards(2016)[15][16]
Publications
editBooks
edit- Varzi, Roxanne (2002).Visionary Terrains of Post Revolution Iran: War, Youth Culture, Media and Public Space(dissertation). Columbia University.
- Varzi, Roxanne (2006).Warring Souls: Youth, Media, and Martyrdom in Post-Revolution Iran.Duke University Press.ISBN9780822337218.
- Varzi, Roxanne (2015).Last Scene Underground: An Ethnographic Novel of Iran.Stanford University Press.ISBN9780804796897.
Chapters
edit- Karim, Persis M.;Khorrami, Mohammad Mehdi;Varzi, Roxanne (1999). "The Pelican".A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans.George Braziller. pp. 214–.ISBN9780807614457.
- Kim, David K.; Jackson, John L., eds. (2011). "Iran's French Revolution: Religion, Philosophy, and Crowds".Race, Religion, and Late Democracy.Volume 637 of Annals of the American Academy. SAGE. pp. 53–63.ISBN9781452218267.
Articles
edit- Varzi, Roxanne (February 21, 2017)."Am I an immigrant?".London Review of Books.
- Varzi, Roxanne (June 5, 2018)."The Knot in the Wood: The Call to Multimodal Anthropology".American Anthropologist.
- Varzi, Roxanne (July 12, 2018)."Nicht Hier Und Nicht Dort"[Not Here and Not There].Le Monde diplomatique(in German). LMd, Berlin.
- Varzi, Roxanne (June 18, 2020)."Commentary: A mask in the O.C. has become as heated as the veil in Iran".Daily Pilot,Los Angeles Times.
Works
editReferences
edit- ^abcdeThe Writers Directory, Volume 31, Part 6.St. James Press. 2013. p. 3184.ISBN978-1-4144-8715-1.
- ^"Artist Directory: Roxanne Varzi".Aftab.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^"Roxanne Varzi".Ethnographic Terminalia.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^"Roxanne Varzi: Contributor".Offscreen.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^abChang, Richard (2020-08-21)."Orange County Writers of Color Rise to the Moment".Voice of OC.Retrieved2022-04-21.
- ^Brehmer, Marian (October 24, 2016)."Roxanne Varzi's novel" Last Scene Underground ": Finding freedom in the catacombs - Qantara.de".Qantara.de - Dialogue with the Islamic World.Retrieved2022-04-21.
- ^"Roxanne Varzi: Contributor".Offscreen.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^"Roxanne Varzi: Artist Directory".Aftab.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^"Der Documentary: Plastic Flowers Never Die".Documentary Educational Resources.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^Shirazi, Faegheh (March 2007)."Iranian Youth, Disillusion, and Identity".Humanities and Social Sciences Net Online.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^"DER Documentary: Plastic Flowers Never Die".Documentary Educational Resources.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^"The Whole World Blind".Public Books.8 April 2013.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^"Roxanne Varzi".Elliott Bay Book.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^ab"Salton Sublime".Ohrenhoch.Ohrenhoch der Geräuschladen.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^"2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results, 20th Annual Awards".Independent Publisher.Retrieved2022-04-21.
- ^Varzi, Roxanne (21 October 2015).Last Scene Underground.Stanford University Press.ISBN9780804796224.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^Poddar, Namrata (2020-01-17)."O.C. artist Roxanne Varzi shares her border-crossing work that resists media clichés about Iran".Daily Pilot,Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2022-04-21.
- ^Varzi, Roxanne (2019-05-04)."Act One to the End: Ask the Ayatollah, a Play (with Henry Corbin)".Comparative and Continental Philosophy.11(2): 178–197.doi:10.1080/17570638.2019.1630890.ISSN1757-0638.S2CID199868326.